Matris Nex
by Hell's Tinkerbell
Summary: Grim's mother feels that he is a slacker and sent another reaper to help pick up the slack. Not for children!
1. Playful Haunting

Six years had passed since that fateful day of Grim's enslavement. Grim had witnessed his two masters mature into young adults. From his perspective, human puberty was nothing more than a turbulent melodramatic era between childhood and adulthood. He could not help but be amused by the histrionics of weak-minded adolescents.

Billy became a decent-looking young man. He was quite tall, thin, and virile. His russet shaggy hair ever remained beneath a red baseball hat. The bulbous nose seemed untouched by time as well. The only aspect that had been changed was his new found flirtatious behavior toward women. His mind be easily swayed by an attractive girl regardless of her disposition or social rank.

And Mandy blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She was slightly short, had a well-proportioned figure, and a hypnotic gaze. Her golden hair had been diligently trimmed to chin-length and restrained from her eyes by black barrettes. Her logical and morbid disposition had been in tact and it became a deterrent to any boy who desired to flirt with her. There had been occasional moments where she socialized with "goths", yet had been intolerant to "emos" in high school.

It had been a beautiful day in April and Grim received a chill that crawled deep down into his marrow. He looked about in Billy's room carefully, suspecting a hidden spy monitoring him. "Come out! I know you're here!" Grim demanded, poised with his scythe. He bent over to peek beneath Billy's bed. "You can run, but you can't hide." His bones rattled with fear to hear a child-like voice sing in an eeirely teasing way. "La la la la la la la laaaa laaaa laaaa..." The knee bones knocked together as his hands gripped the scythe tighter and shrieked to hear the voice giggling. "Wait a minute...I'm the Grim Reaper! It's ridiculous to be scared of ghost!" he exclaimed.

"Whatcha doin', Grim?" Billy asked casually while entering the room. He had been dressed in a simple white t-shirt and jeans with torn up socks. "Nothing!" Grim quickly replied, attempting to appear composed. "Ya sure? I heard some screechin'." Billy said with a wistful smile. "I was...uh...banishing demon dust bunnies! Yeah! That's it! They are vicious this time of year!" Grim lied. He leaned down again to yell beneath the bed, "And stay out you floppy eared pests!"

"I'm sleeping with the vacuum cleaner tonight!" Billy said while shuddering. "Just don't get your third leg stuck in it again! I can't just conjure you a new one every time!" Grim exclaimed, being disgusted. "Oh oh oh make the next one like a fire hose!" Billy said excitedly. "You mortals and your sex organs, I'll never understand what makes it so damn special." Grim grumbled. "The principal said I have special needs. Don't deny my needs, Grim!" Billy demanded. "I have denied too much already." Grim muttered, and imagined Billy dismembered for the ten billionth time.

"Hey Grim!" Mandy's voice shouted from outside the window. Grim walked to Billy's window to peer down at Mandy who stood on the manicured lawn. She had been dressed in a pink tanktop featuring a skull and bones, hip huggers, and black slippers. "I need you to take me to Star-mart." she commanded. "What for?" Grim asked. "None of your business just get me there." she replied, firmly. "Very well." Grim said and made his way to the ground floor. As soon as he stepped out on the doorway; he said, "One vortex to Star-mart coming up." He swung his scythe to tear a hole into the space-time continuum, a green swirling vortex to greet them from the hole. They casually strolled into the vortex and it sealed behind them.

The two of them exited through another vortex to step out before the entrance to Star-mart. The establishment being famous for its pleasing cost of wares and spacious interior. Grim followed Mandy inside the bustling and noisy building. He averted his attention from the obnoxious children who threw temper tantrums at being denied toys or candies by their mothers. The only issue that had been slighlty difficult to ignore had been the elderly people that had hid behind aisles at the sight of Grim.

Mandy's destination had finally defeated his determined discipline...the feminine hygiene aisle. "You made me go through time and space just to get tampons?!" Grim exclaimed, appalled by the concept. "Yes, I needed them." she said simply. Mandy claimed SpongeBobbis, a box of tampons that featured a cartoon feminine sponge creature that had pink skin, wearing a white dress and bow on her head. "Again with the sex organs and their disgusting functions.." Grim muttered.

He then felt tugs upon his robe and looked down to see a baby doll wearing a pink dress open its mouth and a recorded voice that said, "Mama mama!" He lifted the doll into his hands and rubbed his jaw bone while tilting his head. "It is cute, but how did it get over here?" he said. "It is probably one of the mobile models. Dolls get upgraded along with cell phones every year." Mandy suggested. "True, but it grabbed me. That's not normal." he countered. The doll began to do that familiarly haunting giggle and urinated upon his sandaled feet that smelled of apple juice.

Grim dropped the doll both in fright and disgust, brandishing his scythe. "You stay away from me!" he shouted. "Maybe it's supposed to do that, Grim." Mandy said, being annoyed with arms crossed. The doll giggled louder in a sinister manner and it said, "There is a person with a high head today who will be laying low tomorrow." Soon after the doll spoke, it fell upon its back and closed its eyes. Grim's anxiety increased and watched Mandy lift the doll from the floor. She held the doll in her left hand as the right one lifted its dress and open the tiny compartment in its back. Her own eyes widened to observe the compartment to be absent of batteries and displayed the vacant chamber to Grim. "If there is a ghost around, wouldn't it be easy for you to catch it?" Mandy asked. He replied sheepishly, "Yes, but...I am...not very good at the apprehending of the disembodied. I will have to consult..." He paused while releasing another shudder, "My mother..."


	2. A Mother's Tough Love

"Your mother?" Mandy asked with a raised brow. "Yes, she can help us, but can be a little bitchy." he replied. Mandy followed him into the torn open vortex created by Grim, expecting his mother to be a stereotypical housewife baking cookies in a cozy kitchen and complaining about a non-exsistent sex-life. What was at the other side of their destination surprised her.

The two of them stepped into a cavernous room filled with cubicles and the sound of typing and conversations continued at a dull roar. Grim passed by the cubicles, humming a cheerful melody. Mandy briefly glanced to the clerks who had worked at their computers. Each of them were a variety of creatures clad in office attire who worked in groups of two with a monitor featuring a person.

"Where are we, Grim?" Mandy asked. "This is the Judgment floor. The clerks here record a mortal's actions in the living world. When it is the person's time, the record is therefore given to my mother to analyze when the soul arrives to her office. That is when she decides on the consequences of their afterlife. Her goddess duties also include battle fury and victory, and provide security between the underworld and living world." Grim explained.

In the center of the cubicles resided a large black dome with grey stone pillars that stood at the door which had been adorned with skull garlands. The door was made of ebony and pushed aside by Grim.

The interior had a macabre decor. The walls and ceiling had been painted black. The floor had the stone tablets of a castle covered with red/black woven rugs. A made of onyx resided in the center of the room. The station had a laptop, a pencil holder, an hourglass of red sand, a plaque that readed out Morrigan, and a Venus fly-trap that hummed. A woman sat behind the desk. She had coal-black hair tied into a bun and a silver soul-piercing eyes. Her attire composed of a short sleeved tight blouse that had been collared and exposed a bit of cleavage adorned with a skull pin, a sensible skirt, and high-heeled loafer shoes. All of which were black.

"Hi mom...How is business?" Grim asked nervously. "Busier than usual, honey." she replied, and looked to Mandy, "Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" "This is Mandy." he replied. "That's master to you." Mandy said curtly. "Master? A reaper submitting to a mortal? That is laughable!" she said, and chuckled. Mandy nudged Grim and said, "Tell your mother about the bet we made and you lost miserably to me."

"You lost to her?!" Morrigan exclaimed. "Yes.." Grim squeaked. The dark goddess growled beneath her breath while squeezing a fairy's severed head within her hand as a stress-ball. Blood oozed between her fingers and clenching teeth along with furrowed brows. "What..kind..of..bet have you made and lost?!" she said slowly, her temper rising. Grim explained the fateful event six years ago.

Morrigan's jaw fell to the floor as the arteries throbbed from her forehead and eyeballs. Flames formed within her irises as the head within her palm was reduced to a bloody pulp. "You waged your power so frivolously over such a lowly creature and lost to two mortal children! I have raised you better than that! You shame me! You shame the family business that has reigned supreme since the dawn of time! You idiot! You imbecile! I should have sent you to military school a long time ago!" she bellowed. Grim's teeth chattered and began to run toward the exit. Morrigan snapped her fingers to where it locked mystically. "What a charming lady." Mandy said, smirking.

"What is your pathetic excuse for visiting me?!" Morrigan demanded. "Oh you know...some words were said...By the way, I like your shoes." Grim babbled. "Out with it!" she demanded again. "Okay! Okay! I have a poltergeist problem!" he exclaimed. "That is all? A playful little ghost is too much to handle? What's next? Osteoporosis?" Morrigan asked, mocking him. "No, just hard to catch." he replied.

She displayed a Mona Lisa smile, tossing the head to the Venus fly trap that ate the contents. "Then you must have received Poppet's calling card. Did it involve a doll?" she asked. "Yes, and it pissed on me!" he exclaimed. "That is indeed Poppet's handy work. I sent her to your district to help you pick up the slack. Times are getting rougher and there is no room for slackers here." she exclaimed, standing up.

"I am not slacking off! Death never takes a holiday!" he said, defensively. "Rolling heads gather no moss and soft words do not make a proper decomposing so please, spare me your bullshit." she said firmly. "I heard too much of it myself, sister. Has he always been like this?" Mandy asked. "Sadly, yes." she replied.

"I don't need any help! I'm a big boy now, mom! You can count on me!" Grim insisted. Morrigan approached him and placed her hands upon his shoulders. "I don't want a big boy. It is not enough. My son needs to be a man and prove himself to be a worthy reaper. Poppet is there to insure you improve the work load. I better not get any bad reports from her or that scythe will be taken away, permanently!" she said, sternly, "Now go and show me your worth!"

Morrigan then focused her attention upon Mandy and smiled. "Please come back again any time, my dear. I may have a job opening for you." the dark goddess said, pleasantly. "That sounds peachy. I may consider it, ma'am." Mandy said, "Let's go, Grim. You have work to do." Grim grumbled as they exited the office. "It is not fair! I have to work my bones for my mom and she likes you better." he complained. "Life's not fair and neither is death." Mandy said.


	3. Poetic Justice

The next morning had began to be the average and typical routine to begin the day. Billy's mother had created pancakes in the kitchen with the rest of the family gathered before the dining table. She seemed to have always been relieved that Grim had served himself coffee and bagels for breakfast. He seemed to be of less concern to care for despite his morbid appearance. His part-time aid to the housework had seemed to reduce her personal stress level.

"I still do not understand how you continue to eat those sugary cereals." Grim commented to Billy while in the midst of pouring coffee beans into the coffee maker. "It keeps my brain alert and not nap in school." he explained. "It is amazing how you do not have diabetes, yet." Grim added. "Diabetes? My fiber is fine!" he said in defense, mistaking diabetes for diarrhea. "Never mind." Grim muttered. "Dieing is the word you should keep in mind." a young woman's voice could be heard from the unplugged stereo stationed upon the table. Grim grumbled beneath his breath since he had been incapable of frowning in order to express displeasure. "Let me guess…Poppet?" he asked.

The door to the CD player had opened to reveal a black laced gloved hand emerge from the compartment. The hand waved to them which had been followed by a surfacing slender arm. The group at the table paused from their routine to witness a young woman appear from the stereo and step out upon the light blue tiled floor. She seemed to be in her early teenaged years with her short chin length black hair, silver cross earrings, clad in a short black ruffled dress which featured a red bow upon the chest, black over-the-knee stockings, and thick black boots. Her violet eyes met Grim's eye sockets and said pleasantly, "Why hello, Grim. It is nice to see you again." "Yeah yeah, it is nice to see you, too." he grumbled. "Oh, do not be like that. I see this mortal family treated you…well." she said and ended the sentence with a soft snicker. Grim crossed his arms and looked away from her in an irritated manner and said bitterly, "Go ahead and rub it in!"

Billy's mother seemed to have been oblivious to Poppet's sudden appearance and shrieked in fright and surprise to see her. Her reaction caused the two plates of pancakes she had held in both hands to be flung into the air. Poppet and Grim leapt towards a plate, snatching the items from her hands, and then caught the falling pancakes with the flick of their wrists upon the dishes. Billy and his father applauded for the two reapers as the mother had been stupefied by their quick reflexes. Once the plates had been settled upon the table, Poppet performed a curtsy before the mother and said, "Please pardon my sudden arrival and causing a disturbance, madam." The mother widened her eyes and stared at the strange girl using old-fashioned polite etiquette. "Oh!" she said, then chuckled, "As long as you have saved breakfast, it is okay by me." "I am happy to hear that." Poppet said with a grin and returned her attention to Grim, "Are you ready to begin our schedule?" "Yes, let us get this over with." he muttered. "Have a good time reaping, Grim!" Billy called out as they had exited through the back door.

It was a dark hour for a teenaged boy named Julian Flowers. He had been a skinny young man with messy blond hair and having his face bombarded with red pimples. The cruel and heartless torment he had endured came from bullies who had beat him senseless and snobby girls who verbally abused him. What added to the cruelty had been the tormentors feminizing his name. Their banter consisted of: "Oh Julie, come and sit on my lap!" or "Juliet! Your Romeo is here!" Seldom, he would find photographs of homosexual men kissing each other slipped into his locker. This emotional and physical torture had continued to for over twelve years. He had been taught by his parents and counselor to ignore their attention. Their treatment had exceeded his emotional limits and decided to end his life.

The boy snuck into his parents' bedroom one night upon his tiptoes. He had to carefully open their bureau at a slow rate in order to not wake them by the sound of sliding wood. His hand slithered into his father's underwear drawer and the fingertips meet the slightly warm handle of a pistol. The exit had been as quiet as his entrance, closing the door slowly, and running down the hall to his bedroom.

The boy's bedroom walls were covered in role-playing game and anime character posters. The nightstand and desk covered in action figures. He had debated on whether to write a suicide note or to just simply die without a good bye. _No one will bother to read it so why should I write one?_ he thought while opening the chamber of the .22 pistol. The bullets were loaded into the chamber to his satisfaction. A few tears and sniffles were released as he used two thumbs to pull the hammer out. His grief increased as the gun clicked within his grasp and placed the barrel to the side of his head. He loudly wept while holding the pistol by a trembling hand.

He paused in the midst of this intense moment to suddenly feel the room become cold and the lamp upon his desk flicker then shut its light bulb off completely. Two dark figures with glowing red eyes emerged from the shadows. One was tall and thin as the other had been shorter and had a feminine shape. "I am waiting!" the tall figure shouted impatiently. It spoke with a deep masculine voice that had a light Rastafarian accent. The female looked to her comrade abruptly. "W-w-waiting for what?" Julian stammered. "For you to off yourself so I can get some work done." he replied. "Please excuse us for a moment, Mr. Flowers. I have something to discuss with my subordinate." the female said firmly. She grabbed the male by the hand and lead him to the other side of the bedroom.

Julian could hear the discussion:

"You obviously did not get the memo that us reapers receive from **your own mother**!" she said, with irritation in her tone.

"No, I usually throw those away." he said.

"This recent memo had stated that suicidal people are to be stopped and not reaped." she informed.

"What?! Is it not what we are supposed to do? Reap them anyway?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, in the past. This new order had been issued to due to over-population in purgatory. Besides, frivolous suicide is not proper since it is not their appropriate time to leave this world." she explained.

"I…see…Then, what are we to do?" he asked, being dismayed.

"We just need to persuade him to put the gun down." she answered, simply.

"You two are not going to change my mind! I made my decision! It is my body and my soul so I make the decisions!" he shouted, placing a finger upon the trigger. A moment of silence had passed and the female said, "Yes…you have a point. Though, is it not the cowardly way to not face your problems?" "Huh? Cowardly?!" he exclaimed. "She is right, you are being a crybaby about your problems. Have you ever stood up for yourself?" the male asked. "No…They would just beat me up anyway…" Julian said, quietly. "At least find a way to elude them if you can not fight. Besides, you will only make them happy with your death. It will only increase their egos and think that it is okay to torment people like you." she countered.

"Well, I am not happy now so purgatory sounds right for me!" he shouted while crying. "Right now I do not care if he is dead or not. The boy is too pathetic." the male said, having irritation to his tone as well.

Another moment of silence had passed and the female stepped forward. She emerged into the moonlight that had shone through his window. Julian could see a girl who seemed to be the same age with short black hair, silver cross earrings, and dressed in a dark Victorian era styled dress. Her violet eyes seemed to be filled with compassion and she said, "How about I make a deal with you?" "A deal?" he asked. "Yes, would it make you happy if we had punished your enemies in exchange for your prolonged life?" she inquired. Julian blinked his eyes in surprise, then removed the barrel from his head and opened the chamber to have bullets slide from the slots. "I would love it!" he exclaimed and smiled through his tears. The girl grinned to him and said, "Good! Expect the results tomorrow morning." The boy slipped into bed and saw that the two phantom-like people had disappeared. _What will happen to them?_ he wondered.

He had awakened the next morning and returned the gun to his parents' bureau as soon as they left for work in the early morning. Julian waited impatiently to see the promised results that the reapers had promised.

As soon as he arrived to school, it seemed ordinary as he walked to his first class of the hour. The classroom seemed to be less filled than usual, their absence had been brought to his attention. And overheard gossip being passed among the students that a great number of the school's football team are in the hospital after a near fatal car accident last night. _Is that their punishment?!_ he thought with shock.

Julian barely contained his excitement throughout the other two classes, waiting to see the other punishments the reapers inflicted. The lunch hour finally arrived and he entered the cafeteria to see the usual group of mean and rich girls sitting at their table. They dared to not look at the other students while concealing blemishes with facial powder. After at least two minutes, red and pulsating cold sores around their lips had surfaced. "That's what you get for being whores." Julian said in a condescending manner while laughing. "Oh shut up! Go blow the faggots in the drama club!" a bleach blonde haired girl shouted from the group. "You already did that for me." he remarked. She had gasped and being dumbfounded that he had retorted for the first time. "I have no time to waste on shitheads like you. You got what deserved." he said coldly and walked away from their table. The boy overheard the girl crying as others attempted to console her. _Thank you…Thank you, you really made me satisfied. Now life is certainly worth living to seem them suffer for what they have done. I hope we meet again. he thought, hoping that the reapers had heard his thoughts._


End file.
